PM traveled to Berlin to see the hardware on hand at the 2011 Michelin Challenge Bibendum, a wild event that's part auto show and part science fair.

Michelin Challenge Bibendum

Michelin Challenge Bibendum

Thanks to exponential growth of vehicle ownership in developing countries such as China and India, there may be a doubling of the world's vehicular population by 2030. This equates to nearly 1.5 billion cars and trucks trundling along the world's roads 20 years from now. The challenges of the world becoming so much more mobile so quickly include pollution, road congestion, on-road safety, quality of urban life, and the reality of increasing demands on finite natural resources. This calls for a meeting of the automotive minds, and that's what we found at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum.

Named after the company's mascot (better known in the U.S. as the Michelin Man), Bibendum is Michelin's idea of a global transportation seminar. The challenge, which started in 1998, is equal parts technology expo, inventors' science fair, car show, ride-and-drive and collegiate symposium for transportation buffs. High-level urban-transportation concepts are hatched, matured or killed. Technology and engineering companies reveal their latest gear. Hopeful inventors display their dreams, with the goal of finding an investor with deep pockets.